Our last Tuesday play until March will be November 13. Friday play will continue until December 28.

The Friday league has been a great success. We have had over 200 different players over 31 weeks. Our kanban league software has improved since we started in March. All matches can now be scored on your mobile phones. Players can receive texts when their next match is up, or just check the scheduled and on-deck matches in the app. If you cannot make it down or are running late, you can watch the match results come in in real time. The entire season is available for browsing at ttcentral.com

Our final Friday league night will be on November 16. We will have a party that night with prizes and refreshments.

All can compete, however you must have played at least 6 matches in past weeks or have both wins and losses to win prizes. Players can only win one prize each.

The GLTTC is starting a kanban league on Friday nights from 6 to 9 pm. Opening night is March 23. Everyone is welcome. The league directors will be Chuck Piecuch and David Marques. The GLTTC will be the first Seattle table tennis facility to run a kanban league. Kanban leagues utilize USATT style ratings in order set up matches with players of similar levels, however the format is a bit different from the usual group/table based league. Players are assigned matches with a web app. The app seeks to schedule matches so that everyone gets to play as much as everyone else, and so that the matches are between players of similar levels based on their rating. Ratings are adjusted dynamically throughout the night, instead of at the end of the night.

Kanban leagues have several advantages over group/table based leagues. Since the app schedules each match at any of the available tables, more matches can be played in an evening. The system also adapts for players who come late or leave early.

You can sign up in advance at https://ttcentral.com/accounts/signup/ or just show up on a Friday. The directors will work with you to determine a starting rating. If you have questions, you can write to the league directors at league@glttc.com.

The Green Lake Community Center is giving us this night for free again (pick up a free Quick Card at the front desk), however there is a $1 suggested donation to defray league expenses.

The City of Seattle is looking at a plan to rebuild Green Lake Community Center, and possibly find a private partner to build and operate the new facility. A citizen’s group has formed to lobby against privatization and advocate for repair of the community center. If you would like to get involved or become more informed, the SAVE Evans Pool & Green Lake Community Center Facebook group has information and discussions.

KING TV5 News recently interviewed the leader of the citizen’s group, Susan Helf, and GLTTC volunteer Kim Goldov. KING TV5 happened to come on a Sunday evening, so they got lots of table tennis footage:KING TV5 Coverage of Green Lake Community Center

Our first para table tennis clinic on August 13 welcomed a special guest. KING 5 reporter, Ryan Takeo came with his cameraman and will be following the Opening Serve program as things progress. Here is an interesting video of Sung Yang training with Eric Pattison while the camera is on the table right in front of him. We’re looking forward to seeing this shot in the KING 5 report.

The GLTTC, in partnership with Seattle Adaptive Sports has been chosen to participate in the USATT Opening Serve para table tennis program. The program is funded through a grant from the United States Olympic Committee, and aims to bring new disabled players into national competition, and eventually the Paralympics. Para table tennis is the official name of the sport for people with disabilities. Here are the main facets of the program:

Three GLTTC players, Tom Veatch, Sung Yang, and Kim Goldov were sent to Las Vegas in July for training in coaching para table tennis.

We have been given two ADA compliant Joola tables along with balls and paddles for program use.

There will be a para training program at the GLTTC. Our first clinic will be Saturday, August 13 at 5 pm

Two players from our training program will be sent to compete at the US Open in December

We are currently recruiting players for our para TT program. There will be a class every Saturday at 5:30 pm led by head coach, Tom Veatch. Please contact us at info@glttc.com if you know any disabled people who might enjoy this “sport within a sport”. Kids and vets are especially welcome. NO PRIOR TABLE TENNIS EXPERIENCE NECESSARY. Para table tennis has 10 classes of competition – 5 for wheelchair players and 5 for standing based. Players are categorized into one of the 10 classes based on their level of disability so everyone can participate.

We are celebrating Eric Pattison’s recent success at the 2014 US Open in Grand Rapids Michigan. Since Eric won first place he is now the US Open Champion in wheelchair table tennis (all categories). Congratulations Eric, we are so proud of you!

The Green Lake Table Tennis Center, in cooperation with the Bellevue Table Tennis Club will be holding its first USATT sanctioned tournament the weekend of March 24-25, 2012. The event will be directed by Jerry Li, who has been the tournament director for all the sanctioned tournaments in our area for the last several years. The format will be similar to past Bellevue Table Tennis Club tournaments.

There will be a total of $570 in prize money, plus trophies for all non-cash events.

The entry deadline is March 13, so get your entries in soon. We would like to see many of our regular GLTTC players who have never played a sanctioned tournament, enter and get established in the USATT rating system. Please click the entry form image on the right to download the entry form.

There will be a remarkable event taking place at the GLTTC on February 11, 2012. Instead of our usual open play, we will have a free showcase and exhibition by the Seattle Pacific Table Tennis Club (SPTTC) with 60 students and 6 coaches (3 rated over 2600). The show will begin at 7:00 pm and last about 90 minutes. You will get to see how the students train, from the youngest to the most advanced. Several of the students are already familiar to us at the GLTTC from our recent 4th Seattle Table Tennis Championships: Sahl Ali, Jimmy Gao, Reda Ali, Michael Zhao, Kevin Li, Jenny Li, and Alan Bi were all winners or runners-up. 15 year old Billy Ding won our “Under 19 Years Singles” and also took second place in Open Singles.

Following the student showcase, there will be an exhibition with the 6 professional Chinese coaches. This will not be like any competition you have seen. These phenomenal players will put on a show for us full of lightning smashes, sky-high lobs, sizzling chops and unbelievable athleticism.

We are expecting over 200 spectators, so please carpool and plan to arrive by 6:30 pm to find parking. We would also appreciate if you could email ttshowcasedebuts@gmail.com and let us know how many guests you are bringing.